Conventional waste disposal devices and systems are generally available to dispose waste ranging from kitchen refuse to soiled diapers. Most waste receptacles require separate and numerous actions for packing waste and disposing them.
European patent application No. 0005660 describes a device for disposing kitchen refuse in packages enclosed by flexible tubing derived from a tubular pack of tubing surrounding a tubular guide. The device includes a tube sealing mechanism. The tubing passes from the pack over the top of and then down the guide to a position beneath the guide where it has been closed by fusion to provide a receptacle within the guide means. When this receptacle is full of refuse, a lever is manually operated to actuate an electro-mechanical apparatus including clamping and fusion devices that travel round closed tracks to perform the four-fold task of drawing the receptacle down below the tubular guide, fusing the tubing walls together to seal the top of the receptacle, sealing the tubing walls together to provide the closed base of the next receptacle and dividing the tubing by heat at a location between these two fusion locations to separate the filled package.
A popular approach for disposing of diapers has been a device using, for example, a tube twisting mechanism to form a pouch about a diaper. Such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,049. The patent discloses an apparatus to form packets containing disposable diapers comprising a tubing which passes through the top edges of a core opening and then down through the core. The core is turned by means of a twist ring/drive about a cylinder to twist the flexible material at locations between the adjacent packets to seal the packets at their ends thereby providing disposal of the waste. A manually rotatable cutter in the lid is provided for severing the flexible tubing above the twisted packets.
A commercially available waste storage device for disposal of baby diapers is known as the Playtex Diaper Genie®. In the Diaper Genie®, a waste storage container is fitted with a lid designed to contain odors when the lid is closed. The lid also has a rotatable cutting device designed to sever a storage film from a film cassette positioned in the waste container body. The film cassette having a hole concentrically located therein, is positioned in the waste container body. The film cassette has a top surface from which the storage film extends and has a removable twist drive placed in the concentric hole of the cassette. The storage film extends from the film cassette, over and then down through the twist drive, down through a hole in the film cassette and into the waste container body, all in the shape of a tube. The user manually opens the lid assembly by hand and places waste such as a diaper through the twist drive and hole in the film cassette, into the storage film tube. The twist drive is then manually rotated by the user's hand, which causes the film cassette and stored film to rotate, sealing off the disposed waste in the storage film to form a packet or a pouch with a continuous twisted link still attached to the storage film. The storage film is continuously fed from the film cassette as additional links of packets or pouches are formed. The last link is then severed from the storage film when the waste receptacle has been filled to capacity. This is accomplished by closing the lid and pressing down and rotating a rotatable cutting device accessible from the top of the lid, thereby severing the film from around the rim of the film cassette, now exposed in the absence of the twist drive.
The contents of the entire prior art references cited herein are incorporated by reference. From the above it can be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that there are a number of disadvantages associated with prior art waste disposal devices using flexible tubing and tubular sealing material to form packets for disposal of waste materials. It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the steps of placing and positioning the twist drive in the device first by opening a lid, then twisting the ring to seal the waste material inside the film tube, closing the lid, then reopening the lid, closing the lid again before cutting the film may be cumbersome and time consuming. It is clear that a device is needed that will eliminate these disadvantages. Such a device should be relatively safe, economical to purchase, and easy to operate with fewer interventions by the user.